From the April 2003 Idaho Observer:

The Most Dreaded Enemy of Liberty

by James Madison, August 1793

James Madison was the father of the Constitution and the fourth president of the United States. Though his comments regarding war as a dreaded enemy of freedom were made 210 years ago, can anyone refute their timeless accuracy or deny their relevance to current events?

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. . . . [There is also an] inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and . . . degeneracy of manners and of morals. . . . No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. . . .

[It should be well understood] that the powers proposed to be surrendered [by the Third Congress] to the Executive were those which the Constitution has most jealously appropriated to the Legislature. . . .

The Constitution expressly and exclusively vests in the Legislature the power of declaring a state of war . . . the power of raising armies . . . the power of creating offices. . . .

A delegation of such powers [to the President] would have struck, not only at the fabric of our Constitution, but at the foundation of all well organized and well checked governments.

The separation of the power of declaring war from that of conducting it, is wisely contrived to exclude the danger of its being declared for the sake of its being conducted.

The separation of the power of raising armies from the power of commanding them, is intended to prevent the raising of armies for the sake of commanding them.

The separation of the power of creating offices from that of filling them, is an essential guard against the temptation to create offices for the sake of gratifying favourites or multiplying dependents.

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Note: To fully appreciate how far off our constitutional course our leaders have taken us, consult The Federalist Papers. A version of “The Federalist Papers in Modern Language Indexed for Today's Political Issues,” edited by Mary Webster, is available for $19.95 by contacting the Merril Press at editor@merrilpress.com or by calling (425) 454-7009.

Human nature has not changed over time; our innate tendencies toward greed and pettiness are only magnified by modern conveniences. Likewise, the relationship between people and governments has not changed over time; technology simply makes capitalizing on man's frailties easier and more efficient. (DWH)